By Sinegugu Ndlovu
A team has been set up by the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department to investigate allegations that six male teachers at a Durban high school are involved in sexual relationships with pupils as young as 15 in exchange for money and alcohol.
The department's Umlazi district director, Mlungisi Ntombela, said about 20 female pupils arrived at his office on Friday to report that the teachers frequently had sex with female pupils in the science laboratory.
The whistleblowers told officials that they would be given R100 after having sex with the teachers.
The teachers also consumed alcohol with the girls in the laboratory.
Ntombela said some of the girls said they had been romantically involved with the teachers.
He and other officials visited the school on Tuesday to investigate the allegations.
The girls were advised on what to do when a teacher proposed a personal relationship.
"I asked one of the girls who said that she had slept with one of the accused teachers if they had used protection and she said 'no'.
"Some of the teachers we spoke to, especially females, confirmed the allegations, saying that the teachers in question had often been arrogant about sleeping with the girls.
"One of the girls said she lost her virginity to one of the teachers," said Ntombela, adding that a team of women had been assembled to probe the allegations.
The investigators would include a psychologist, who would evaluate the girls, two education department officials and a labour relations officer.
The team would also investigate reports that a pupil had dropped out of school after being impregnated by one of the teachers.
"We were also told that one of the teachers physically assaulted a pupil after she ended a relationship with him. Hearing a 15-year-old girl say that a teacher had sex with her in a laboratory spoilt our weekends. We heard that this has been happening for years. How do you explain this to a parent?" said Ntombela.
"If the allegations are true, these teachers are very dangerous and can't be maintained as the department's employees. By law, these are punishable offences."
Section 17 of the Education Laws Amendment Act provides that teachers must be dismissed if found guilty of having sexual relationships with pupils.
Ntombela said the teachers had not yet been suspended and that the investigation team had been given a two-week deadline to hand in a preliminary report.
The South African Council of Educators said it would also investigate the allegations.
The council's CEO, Rej Brijraj, said 18 teachers were struck off the teachers' roll since the beginning of this year for unethical conduct, which included sexual violence against pupils.
The names of the offending teachers would be published on the council's website in June.